Well, I finally tried it and it was a disaster-- well, it actually tasted pretty good and I used it for toast, but it fell in the middle and it was kind of coarse and very dark in color. Obviously, that recipe is best made the old-fashioned way!

I decided to stick with a tried-and-true wholewheat loaf with more potato in it than in my oven recipe. Potato is a great lightener-upper of wholegrain breads! I also used the sponge method-- which is basically leaving the liquid, yeast and half the flour (a batter) to rise for several hours before adding the remaining ingredients and turning on the machine cycle. One recipe uses a yeast sponge and the other a sourdough sponge. Otherwise they are pretty much the same.

Why bother with this extra step?

It's all about umami, the "fifth flavor", the "essence of deliciousness". It turns out that bland old wheat gluten contains umami compounds.

Mushrooms and fungi are a great source of synergizing umami. Yeasts (both active, and non-active nutritional yeast and yeast extract, such as Marmite), which is also a fungi (and this includes sourdough, a natural yeast) , have umami compounds. They also act as synergizers. For instance, in a live yeast or sourdough starter, the enzymic action develops the umami in wheat flour to "ripen" the dough and develop its flavor.

Now this brings me to a favorite hobbyhorse-- I've been writing for years that fast-risen breads seem tasteless, and most bread machine breads have a "homogenized" flavor no matter what you put into them. I knew that this was due to the lack of rising time, which develops enzymes and "ripens" the dough and improves the crust. I've been telling people for a long time to try making their bread machine breads with an overnight sponge, or the addition of sourdough starter. But I had no idea that it was umami at work!

So, I give you here two versions of a bread that I have been making for years and which I re-vamped for the bread machine. They both come out nicely-shaped, light and tender, AND with excellent crumb, crust and flavor!

NOTE ABOUT FLOUR: Canadian flour is higher in gluten (protein) than US flour, so Canadians can use ordinary wholewheat flour. Americans might want to use wholewheat bread flour.

This is an adaptation of a recipe I have made in the oven for years. This recipe makes a tender, light wholewheat bread. You can use this as a base for all sorts of variations. NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS done using water, 2 T. sugar, no soymilk or soy protein.

I make the sponge just before I go to bed at night, and add the other ingredients first thing in the morning and start the machine.

Sponge:(Mix this 4-8 hours before you start the bread machine cycle-- you can do it before you go to bed at night.)

Mix in the bread machine container (this is the one I have) the water 1 cup flour, and 1/2 tsp. yeast on the dough cycle for 5-10 minutes, then unplug. Cover the container with plastic wrap and let it rise.

After the sponge has risen (4-8 hours), add the mashed potato, sugar, oil, salt, flour and the remaining yeast, in that order.

Set on the Basic Cycle. Check the dough during the first knead to make sure that it is neither too dry, not too wet. If it's too dry, add water by the tablespoonful, letting it knead in, until it looks right. (I often have to add 1 T. or so-it kind of depends on how dry the potatoes are.) If it's too wet, do the same with flour. This is a wet dough but still rises well. It's fine as long as it kneads well, even if it looks a little sticky.

If you want a more attractive top crust to the bread, 5 minutes before the bread is due to bake (I set my kitchen timer to remind me of this), you can make a decorative slash in the top of the bread with a razor blade, and you can also glaze the bread with some soymilk, using a pastry brush, or sprinkle the top with some flour.

Cover the "window" in the top of your machine with foil, so that the top of the bread will brown properly. Remove the bread immediately from the machine when done, placing on a rack to cool thoroughly. This will insure a crisp crust.

This is almost the same as the wholewheat sponge bread above, but with a wholewheat sourdough starter used as well as the yeast. I think it is a bit superior, but they are both good! NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS done using water, 2 T. sugar, no soymilk or soy protein.

Set your machine (this is the one I have) on the Basic Cycle. Check the dough during the first knead to make sure that it is neither too dry, not too wet. If it's too dry, add water by the tablespoonful, letting it knead in, until it looks right. If it's too wet, do the same with flour. This is a wet dough but still rises well. It's fine as long as it kneads well, even if it looks a little sticky.

If you want a more attractive top crust to the bread, 5 minutes before the bread is due to bake (I set my kitchen timer to remind me of this), you can make a decorative slash in the top of the bread with a razor blade, and you can also glaze the bread with some soymilk, using a pastry brush, or sprinkle the top with some flour.

Cover the "window" in the top of your machine with foil, so that the top of the bread will brown properly. Remove the bread immediately from the machine when done, placing on a rack to cool thoroughly. This will insure a crisp crust.

Yield: 1 and 3/4 lb. loaf; 10 large slices

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per 1/2 slice): 107.1 calories; 14% calories from fat; 1.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 175.3mg sodium; 123.9mg potassium; 20.9g carbohydrates; 2.6g fiber; 1.6g sugar; 18.4g net carbs; 3.1g protein; 1.8 points. SOURDOUGH STARTER: If you already have a white sourdough starter, use 1/4 cup of it to make a wholewheat starter. You can get a very good free starter online here: Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter. I have been using this one for several years. You can also email me for my vegan yogurt-based sourdough starter instructions. Refresh the starter before using it in this bread-- it has to be fresh and bubbly!

Thanks for the recipe. I just baked two loaves of bread, one in the bread machine and one in the oven and the difference was astounding! As a part-time worker, I can't make all of our bread in the oven, so I looked online and found your recipes. I'll let you know after I use them if it helped. I appreciate your website.

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